Happy early Memorial Day 2008 [Alice H.]
— Open Blog

I wasn't sure what to title this post, since I don't necessarily consider Memorial Day a 'happy' holiday, but then I remembered that at the Denver Memorial Day Parade yesterday there was a kid, about 8 years old, waving two flags and jumping up and down and screaming "HAPPY MEMORIAL DAY!!!" for the entire duration of the parade. And it reminded me that, even though the holiday is a day for remembrance and grieving for the soldiers who gave their lives for our country and our freedom, that I'm awfully happy to be enjoying that freedom, and I know that each and every soldier who makes the sacrifice of enlisting will guarantee that freedom for our children at any cost.

So Happy Memorial Day.

And yeah, I know this is early, but I figured Sunday morning posting will be light anyway, and you morons will need something to read.

There are more pictures from the parade at my blog. Unlike Chad, I'm not ashamed to cheaply pander myself.

Posted by: Open Blog at 08:13 AM | Comments (13)
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Iran Paid Iraqi Insurgents to Kill UK and “Multi National” Troops [dri]
— Open Blog

A just released report states that Iran directly funded and instructed Iraqi insurgents to carryout deadly attacks on UK and Multi National forces in Iraq.

The allegations are contained in a confidential "field report" written by a British officer who served in Basra during one of the most dangerous periods of the conflict. The report, which has never been made public, shows the full level of Iran's involvement in the insurgency for the first time.

The document states that the Jaish al-Mahdi (JAM) – also known as the Mahdi Army – one of the most violent insurgent groups operating in Basra, used money from Iran to recruit and pay young unemployed men up to $300 (£150) a month to carry out attacks against the British.

A troubling aspect of this report is that it begs the question of whether Iran also financed attacks on American troops and had not just provided weapons to the Iraqi insurgency as has been alleged in the past. The report suggests that Iran indeed directly financed attacks on US troops.

"JAM, using funding from Iran, paid the unemployed youths in the region of $300 per month to attack Multi National Forces.”

When one considers that US troops have borne the brunt of most IED attacks in which advanced Iranian EFPs (Explosively Formed Penetrators)
have been used, the true meaning of “Multi National Forces” in this report becomes clear.

In Iraq 60-70% of all US troop deaths are caused by IED explosions. If this report is true, then the Iranian government has earned the dubious distinction of being the leading cause of US troop casualties today.

Posted by: Open Blog at 06:55 AM | Comments (26)
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Really? - Mexico says "U.S. should focus on stemming gun flow in to Mexico" (Aurvant)
— Open Blog

Every country, now and again, is guilty of being caught on record saying some really stupid crap. It just so happens that this time Mexico was up to the plate.

The chief of Mexico's war on drug gangs said Washington should
concentrate on halting the flow of arms to Mexican drug cartels rather
than haggle over how much aid to give Mexico's anti-smuggling operation.

No no no, why don't you focus on not allowing your people to illegally enter our country. I was just now reading this article and thought to myself "Is this some kind of joke? Is Mexico really complaining to US about something crossing our border in to their country? Really? Reeeaaaalllly?

Is this not the same country that was found to be passing out pamphlets that told "would-be illegals" how to enter the U.S. without going through the legal system? Please, If I somehow dreamed up that Mexico was actually helping their own people cross illegally in to the United States please correct me. However, I'm fairly certain that I'm right on that one. Anyways, that isn't even the absurd portion of the article...this is:

"Some of us were talking, remarking that, well, this (sum of money) is
all very well, but why don't we tell the Americans they could spend it
on their (border security forces) to stop the flow of arms to Mexico,"
Santiago Vasconcelos said in remarks on local radio distributed by his
office on Saturday.

No, how about we use those funds to stop your citizens from entering our country illegally. Besides, I'm willing to bank money on the idea that the majority people who are sending guns back across the border are people who entered the United States unannounced in the first place. As if that wasn't enough, our own government can't decide how to approach this situation without stepping on peoples toes:

U.S. President George W. Bush had offered to add $1.4 billion in three
tranches to pay for surveillance equipment and speedy aircraft, but his
opponents in Congress have haggled over the amount and asked that human
rights conditions be attached.

I bet this could be another edition of "Name that Party" if only they would give actual names instead of saying "opponents in Congress". I wonder if John "Comprehensive...(AMNESTY)...Immigration Reform" McCain was one of those opponents, but of course it's an election year so we'll probably never find that out either.

Anyways, I'm just really amazed that Mexico would really have the stones to complain about how we are handling our Border Security. We're already complaining enough that our borders aren't being secured enough to stop the flow of illegals in to the country but to actually have the source of our problem voice concern over border security?

Mind-boggling, I tell you.

Posted by: Open Blog at 12:34 AM | Comments (44)
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Yeah, You Make A Difference [Vinnie, On Behalf of Jane Novak]
— Open Blog

Hopefully, some of you morons will remember my earlier post on this subject.

Well, guess what. Jane, and Mr. Khaiwani have been profiled in, yes, that paper.

My apologies to Ace for linking the NYT.

For those of you who thought that signing that petition wouldn't have any effect, his sentencing has been postponed. And, word on the Yemeni street is that Ali Abdullah Saleh, the Islamofascistprick ruler of Yemen, is royally pissed.

Jane Novak would also like to relay this letter from Karim Al Khaiwani:

Thank you very much for this campaign, which comes in the context of the overall values that we believe, and they punish us when we believe those values and adopt them. I do not want to talk about myself, but rather the environment that we live in and suffering we endure from the inconsistency between what the authorities announce about democracy and freedoms, and what happens when we believe in those same things, democracy and freedoms.

They want us to practice our rights as they understand them, but we do it ideally. The regime said that democracy is the way of ruling, but when we try to practice our rights within this concept, criticizing the way that the regime governs and how they act, then they deal with us in a way that has no relation to democracy. They deal with us as outlaws. They use all of the state's resources to attack anyone who has any opinions not corresponding with their opinions, and to attack those who even discuss their way of ruling.

What I am suffering and facing is part of the price I and many others pay for the democracy and freedom we hope to achieve in the future. At least we are preparing for a healthy environment that we want the next generation to live in. We believe that democracy and freedom have an expensive price, and this is a part of that price.

However that doesn't mean we will keep silent and bend, as it is the price. We will refuse injustice peacefully. Solidarity is a way to enhance new civil values which support the democracy we will make with our sacrifice and with the support of others. We pay the price of the freedom for ourselves and for the generations after us. Again, thank you very much for your help and support.

Abdulkarim al-Khaiwani
05/10/08
Sana'a, Yemen

Pray for this brave man. He's one of the few bright spots in the dark dim of the current Middle East.

Posted by: Open Blog at 09:46 PM | Comments (4)
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Swift Justice After Postville Raids
— Gabriel Malor

Out of 389 people captured at the Agriprocessors plant, 270 have been sentenced to five months imprisonment for fraudulent use of documents to procure work authorization. Those are just the criminal proceedings. The whole bunch will be removed after they've served their sentences.

Why so fast?

The unusually swift proceedings, in which 297 immigrants pleaded guilty and were sentenced in four days, were criticized by criminal defense lawyers, who warned of violations of due process. Twenty-seven immigrants received probation. The American Immigration Lawyers Association protested that the workers had been denied meetings with immigration lawyers and that their claims under immigration law had been swept aside in unusual and speedy plea agreements.

The illegal immigrants, most from Guatemala, filed into the courtrooms in groups of 10, their hands and feet shackled. One by one, they entered guilty pleas through a Spanish interpreter, admitting they had taken jobs using fraudulent Social Security cards or immigration documents. Moments later, they moved to another courtroom for sentencing.

The illegals (note my shock that the N.Y. Times doesn't bother with any euphemisms) were offered the opportunity to plead guilty on these lesser charges. Those that refused were told they would be prosecuted for aggravated identity theft, which carries a mandatory two-year minimum sentence.

"Catch and release" is being replaced with a zero-tolerance policy aimed at punishing illegal immigrants for criminal violations in addition to imposing the usual civil immigration penalties. The criminal sentences will at least break up the usual cycle wherein an illegal is caught, ordered removed, brought to the other side of the border around noon, and is resting comfortably back at home by evening. I suspect this bunch thought that they'd do just that; many initially claimed to be from Mexico (when in fact they are largely from Guatemala) so as to make the trip back easier.

More prosecutions may be pending:

No charges have been brought against managers or owners at Agriprocessors, but there were indications that prosecutors were also preparing a case against the company. In pleading guilty, immigrants had to agree to cooperate with any investigation.

Also, a story came out of the Jewish press yesterday about possible grand jury proceedings related to Agriprocessors.

It is unclear whether Wahls has been called as a witness or as a potential target of a government investigation. A spokesperson for the Northern Iowa U.S. Attorney's Office would neither confirm or deny that a grand jury has been convened in connection with the Postville raid.

"The obvious thing to say is that they're building a case against the Rubashkins themselves," said Marc Stern, general counsel to the American Jewish Congress.

An R.W. was named in the original government affidavit that laid the legal groundwork for last week's raid at Agriprocessors, which netted 389 illegal immigrants. R.W. is alleged to have carried an envelope of cash with which he paid undocumented Agiprocessors employees.

Wahls told the Des Moines Register that he is probably the R.W. named in the affidavit.

Agriprocessors, its owners, and its managers will likely face prosecution for multiple violations of environmental and labor laws in addition to immigration-related crimes.

More: Alice H. sends along "Agriprocessors, A Blight on The Land." It has some interesting information on the kosher meat company, but may be even more informative for readers wanting to know more about the immigration process in general.

Posted by: Gabriel Malor at 07:51 PM | Comments (25)
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Well, look at that. Actual News! - FARC leader is "dead" claims the Columbian military (Aurvant)
— Open Blog

Considering this is my first Open Blog post here I'm just hoping this doesn't come out looking like a giant piece of shit.

So, here's the big breaking news.

There has been no confirmation from guerrilla sources. The top rebel commander's death has been rumoured and disproved several times in the past.

But correspondents say the death could mean the end of the Farc if confirmed.

Considering the guy was in charge for something like 44 years I would have to say that either he is the wiliest rebel leader EVER or the Columbian Military are just really bad shots. Either way there seems to be a dispute now on whether or not the guy was "killed in explosion" or "Heart failure".

Does it really matter?

"If they are going to say that the information we have is not correct, then let them prove it," Admiral Moreno said.

Apparently so.

Anyways. FARC leader's dead....maybe...probably.

Whatever. Here's a video of people epic-failing at various things just for shits and giggles. And if this post looks like crap? Sorry. Still trying to get the hand of this. Hopefully the video appears.

Posted by: Open Blog at 06:56 PM | Comments (25)
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Cobra Commander's First Campaign Ad - He and Hillary Are In It All The Way To November (chad)
— Open Blog

more...

Posted by: Open Blog at 06:09 PM | Comments (9)
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The 2008 Republican Congressional District Census (chad)
— Open Blog

Removed link to my blog it just seemed like cheap pandering

Today in the mail I received a questionnaire from the Republican National Committee that implies it will be use to formulate the party platform and will also be shared with Republican congressional types to help them address issues.

It seems to me that this is the type of thing where the more answers the better off we are so I thought I would share it with you guys below the fold.

I think that a nice e-mail to your congress person indicating where you stand on each of these items wouldn't be out of line. more...

Posted by: Open Blog at 12:11 PM | Comments (32)
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Greatest Commercial Parodies Ever [dri]
— Open Blog

UPDATE: I screwed up. I got my greatest parodies lists mixed up. This is the list I meant to post.
As a good will gesture, I will reimburse everyone their monthly $49.95 AoSHQ membership fee.

For those who missed it the first time around, my original mistakenly reposted submission, The 50 Greatest Comedy Sketches of All Time, can be seen here.

Posted by: Open Blog at 07:12 AM | Comments (23)
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Why I still blog at the AoSHQ
— Russ from Winterset

I know what you're asking. Russ, why do you still persist in blogging here? I realize that my niche is somewhat, uhm, specialized, consisting mostly of the perspective of an Iowa voter who loves him some bacon. I'll never match Ace with respect to bringing "teh funnay", Dave In Texas has the moronblogging down cold, LauraW covers "News of the Weird" and lolcats like nobody's business, JackM handles celebrity stalking and poetry, Mallor gives the last word on legal issues and issues that affect the gay community (NTTAWWT), and the issues that they don't catch get caught by Drew, Purple Avenger, krakatoa, and the rest of the open blogging crew. Where's the place on a big multinational blog conglomerate for a simple Iowa farm boy?

Well, if history has taught me anything, it's that anything can happen. After all, the presumed Democratic nominee for president in 1968 was RFK, and look what happened to him. You never know when Ace will succumb to a bad bottle of Val-U-Rite, and there's all sorts of other calamities that could befall the starting lineup of co-bloggers. Auto-erotic asphyxiation, a long prison term for running a jenkem production lab, a bizarre gardening accident, and being mauled by a wounded hobo are all incidents that could end up decimating the AoSHQ writing staff. Hell, Dave IS from Texas, so he's almost certain to die in one of those incidents where the victim yells to his buddies "Hey, check this out!" eventually.

No, I MUST keep plugging away, if only to be prepared for the day that I have to provide three posts a day worth of content to keep the AoSHQ running smoothly (at least as smoothly as you can run on munu servers, but that's another matter). It's like I said back during the 2007 Iowa Straw Poll, when I covered the throng of Paultards and the sparse crowd of Fred! volunteers without regard to the constant sniper fire and the annoying falling anvils that could have taken me out many times that day: "If I've got to put myself in harm's way to cover this story for all the morons out there, then let's go do it." I'm just a small cog in the AoSHQ machine, but I take pride in my place.

Well, maybe I'm not the smallest cog. I'm a little bigger than LauraW physically, but she's wiry. And she's skilled in the weirdling ways.

Posted by: Russ from Winterset at 06:20 AM | Comments (30)
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